Do not associate anything with God; for there is no greater oppression than that. He is the Creator and the Provider, and He manages the cycle of life. He is the Legislator and the Ruler, and none but He is like this. Ask for your needs from none but He, and swear by nothing but His name. Do not seek help from the absent, nor tie prayer ribbons to graves. Do not resort to trees, nor seek refuge with stones.
Obey none but God, I mean one whom God has named. God is sufficient for you, and you are not in need of anyone else. Beware of Him and be cautious; for He is capable of destroying you. Behave well before Him lest He get angry with you and strike you, then you will be thrown into the depths of Hell. Seek His satisfaction so that He will be kind to you and lead you to what you desire; because if He takes someone as a friend, He gives him this world and the Hereafter, and if He takes him as an enemy, you do not know what He does to him!
Fear God in order to attain purity; because the fear of Him is like warm water that cleanses dirt and removes stains. Perceive Him present in solitude and watching in darkness so that darkness does not deceive you and solitude does not embolden you. He is the Judge, the Witness, and the Accuser, and He catches the criminal and punishes him. Does the criminal not care about the Witness or fear the Judge?! He knows about your scheming when you scheme and hears your whisper when you whisper; for He is closer to you than the jugular vein. Do you not care about your reputation or feel ashamed before the One Who is present and watching?!
What will you do when death comes, the Day of Judgment arrives, the Balance is set, and Hell is set ablaze?! Is it wealth or faith that will save you, and is it position or piety that will benefit you?! Be faithful to survive and practice piety to succeed; for those who have no faith will perish, and those who have no piety will fall into misery; like those who have turned away from their religion, thus they say: “There is no god,” and say: “What is Heaven or Hell?!” And they mock people of religion; because they have forgotten the days of God, ignored His signs, exulted in the knowledge they possess, and followed the passions of those who have abandoned their intellects and live the life of beasts; or like those who have become weak in religion, so they do not perform prayer, nor do they pay Zakat, nor do they fast in the month of Ramadan, eat usury, follow desires, and engage in falsehood to defile the earth with immorality and fill it with sin so that blessings are removed from it, calamities are sent down on it, and there is no savior. Beware, do not be one of them, but rather hold on to your faith, even if disbelief blows like a storm, and do not let your piety weaken, even if sin shakes up like an earthquake; because the steadfast are the pegs of the earth or like the stars of the heaven. For their sake, blessings are sent down and the punishment is delayed.
